


he's got me atomised

by kwonjis



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Seo Youngho | Johnny, Minor Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Nakamoto Yuta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-07-11 09:33:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15969602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kwonjis/pseuds/kwonjis
Summary: "i had a feeling he'd catch your eye." yeri said slyly."everyone single person in the room was watching him just now." jaehyun deadpanned."that's not what i meant."orworld renowned designer jaehyun gets sick of attending fashion week until he falls for one of the hottest models on the scene





	he's got me atomised

**Author's Note:**

> this was inspired by the following prompt given to me in my cc: jaeyong pairing where world renowned fashion designer jaehyun gets bored during new york fashion week until a newcomer model, taeyong, catches his eyes (and perhaps his heart)
> 
> the title is taken from the lyrics of girl panic by duran duran but i switched the pronouns oops
> 
> ps my knowledge of the fashion industry is extremely limited so please excuse inaccuracies i might have made

“Mr Jung! Mr Jung!”

 

“Is that Dong Sicheng and Jung Jaehyun?”

 

“It's Jung Jaehyun!”

 

The yells and shouts of the swarm of reporters and photographers outside of the gallery gave Jaehyun a headache. The unrelenting flashes of light from all the cameras nearly blinded him and he made a mental note to wear sunglasses the next time he was appearing at a public event.

 

Jaehyun had always hated being in the spotlight. But he couldn’t really run from it considering he’d been the one to choose this line of work.

 

Sicheng walked beside him, impeccably dressed as always. His best friend had barged into his hotel room that morning armed with clothes and makeup and practically rolled Jaehyun into the showers. “I can’t believe you were named one of the sexiest bachelors of the year,” Sicheng had complained, wrinkling his nose as he took in Jaehyun’s appearance. “You literally wore this when we went out last night how did you not even shower?”

 

Dressed up and styled, Jaehyun looked like a god. Sicheng's words, not his own. “If you smiled a little more often, you wouldn't be as single as you are now.” Sicheng had stated, after making sure Jaehyun looked flawless.

 

Jaehyun could feel dozens of eyes trained on him as he entered the venue. He leaned in to Sicheng and whispered, “If they don't stop staring I swear I'm gonna leave halfway through this show.”

 

“Suck it up and keep walking, we're almost to our seats. Plus, Yeri already wants your head for not telling her that you were gonna show up. She's gonna throttle you if she sees you leaving in the middle of _your_ show,” Sicheng whispered back. He smiled serenely at someone before elbowing Jaehyun swiftly in the side.

 

Once they got to their seats, Jaehyun looked around the room. He felt a little out of place sitting in the front row of his show. Knowing that everything had been planned and organised by Yeri and everyone else made him feel guilty but he figured he owed it to them to at least behave and try to act like he wanted to be here.

 

Jaehyun could hear some people whispering and saw people looking at him, some with interest and some with distaste.

 

_Who does he think he is?_

 

_He just waltzes in here after snubbing the last few shows like nothing happened._

 

_Ungrateful._

 

Even though it hurt, Jaehyun couldn’t really blame them for whispering behind his back like this. After getting into a run-in with one persistent reporter who’d demanded to know why Jaehyun looked bored at the Milan Fashion Week shows and responding icily that he didn’t even want to show up to these things in the first place, Jaehyun had received backlash and been accused of an inflated ego and the media began painting him as an arrogant asshole who didn’t deserve to be acknowledged as a designer on par with Karl Lagerfeld and Stella McCartney.

 

Of course, no one knew that the only reason Jaehyun had said what he said was because he was _tired_. He’d hit wall after wall as he desperately tried to sketch new designs. Nothing he came up with seemed original enough or groundbreaking enough. It all seemed like horrible copies of something already created.

 

“I know you’d much rather be at home instead of attending all these fashion shows but trust me when I say that you need this break. All you ever do at home anyways is work on sketches that you end up throwing away and then getting even more frustrated about nothing turning out the way you want. You need to take a step back and just think about something else, maybe just enjoy the shows instead of scrutinising each design and comparing them to your own.”

 

So Jaehyun let Sicheng take him to Fashion Week. He knew that Sicheng understood what he was going through as a fellow designer. But it was hard to ignore the critics sometimes. It was hard to just enjoy the shows when he knew those designs could be making his own look shabby in comparison. He’d been a good sport in the beginning, watching the shows impassively and trying to avoid feeling like shit as he felt his resolve crumble with every show he attended. That reporter in Milan had been the final push, sending Jaehyun spiralling deeper into frustration and despair.

 

After that incident in Milan, Jaehyun booked his flight back to Seoul. He didn’t want anything more to do with the shows and wanted nothing more than to shut himself inside the sanctuary his apartment provided. But Sicheng had been determined to make sure Jaehyun at least attended his _own_ show and secretly changed his flights.

 

Sitting here now, Jaehyun was a little thankful that Sicheng was incredibly stubborn.

 

“Hey, Yeri says she wants me to bring you backstage,” Sicheng said, putting a hand on his shoulder and snapping him out of his thoughts. “She says she’d come out but she figured she'd make you come to her this time round.” Jaehyun made a face.

 

“I can't say no, can I?”

 

As they headed backstage, Jaehyun could still feel everyone in the room staring at him.

 

 _They don't know you, Jung Jaehyun. Don't think about them._ He thought to himself.

 

Yeri was stunning and intimidating in a red pantsuit as she dealt out instructions to the staff rushing about. As soon as she spotted Jaehyun and Sicheng, she marched over with a determined look in her eyes.

 

“You owe me drinks for a lifetime, Jae,” She exclaimed, pointing a perfectly manicured finger at Jaehyun. “I had to shift around so many seats to make room for you just because you didn't think to tell me you decided to grace us all with your presence. The press was on my heels for _days_ about your appearance today, I was so close to just making this whole thing closed to the press.”

 

Jaehyun couldn't help but laugh and pulled her in for a hug. “It's good to see you too, Yeri. And don't worry, I'll pay you back for putting up with my bullshit.”

 

Yeri couldn't help but smile and shake her head. “Sicheng, I don't know how you deal with him.”

 

“What can I say? I’ve got the patience of a monk,” Sicheng grinned, hugging Yeri as well.

 

Yeri went on about Jaehyun’s designs, talking about how stunning each piece was and how she couldn’t wait to see the critics biting their tongues after the show. “You should come up on stage at the end of it,” Yeri suggested with a twinkle in her eyes. Jaehyun shook his head.

 

“I can’t take credit for the show, it’s all you.”

 

Yeri scoffed. “Don’t be so humble, we wouldn’t even be having this show without your brilliant mind.”

 

“Just shine the spotlight on him at the end, he won’t be able to run,” Sicheng said, winking. Jaehyun rolled his eyes while Yeri pondered about this.

 

“That’s not a bad idea actually…”

 

After a while, a young staff rushed over to Yeri’s side and whispered something about the lights set up. Yeri excused herself, “I’ll catch up with you both after the show!” and then she was gone.

 

“I’ve missed her,” Jaehyun sighed as he and Sicheng returned to their seats. The room was visibly more crowded now. Jaehyun could recognise some fellow designers sitting in the crowd as well as a couple of well-known photographers in the industry. Johnny Seo, one of his favourite photographers and someone he had worked with countless of times, spotted him and raised his hand in a friendly gesture. Jaehyun couldn’t help but smile back and waved a little. He noticed that Johnny was sitting beside a small, slender man with beautiful features. The man was leaning into Johnny and whispering something into his ear.

 

“Oh? Is that Ten with Johnny Seo?” Sicheng said, squinting slightly. Jaehyun turned to him with a questioning look. “Ah, right you don’t read the tabloids or newspapers these days. Ten is one of the hottest models on the scene. He’s been all over Thailand and recently expanded into the US and European markets. Apparently he and Johnny have been seeing each other for some time now but Ten didn’t want to go public because he didn’t want to be accused of sleeping his way to the top. You know, since Johnny’s one of the biggest photographers out there.”

 

“That’s ridiculous,” Jaehyun said, frowning. He watched the way Johnny smiled softly as Ten linked their hands together. “But it seems like they’re public about their relationship now?”

 

Sicheng followed Jaehyun’s gaze and smiled a little. “It’s because Johnny made a statement about the two of them last month. Said he had never used his relationship with Ten to help advance Ten’s career and that he was the one who had pursued Ten first. The public went crazy, of course, but luckily they didn’t seem to get too much backlash.”

 

The story left Jaehyun with a slightly odd feeling in his stomach. It wasn’t unpleasant per se  but as he watched Ten rest his head against Johnny’s shoulder he couldn’t help but feel the tiniest sense of loneliness rise up inside him.

 

As the lights dimmed and music started playing, Jaehyun’s attention turned to the stage. The host was someone Jaehyun didn’t recognise, most likely someone Yeri had hired outside of their company. The host went through the typical introductions and greetings that Jaehyun had heard countless times and Jaehyun couldn’t help but zone out a little. Sicheng elbowed him once everyone started clapping and Jaehyun joined in half-heartedly.

 

The stage remained empty for some time before music started up again and a stream of models began their flawlessly rehearsed walk along the runway. Jaehyun watched them all, noting the way some of his designs looked on the models. He found himself picking at the tiniest details on the outfits such as how cheap some of the embellishments looked and how the asymmetry of one particular dress made the whole look scream ‘cheap’ rather than giving out a chic feel.

 

Jaehyun didn’t know how long he could sit and watch his mistakes taunt him on stage.

 

Sicheng seemed to sense Jaehyun’s inner turmoil and gave him a reassuring smile. He leaned into Jaehyun a little and whispered, “Everyone loves it, don’t think too much about this.” Jaehyun took a deep breath and forced himself to peek at everyone else in the room.

 

Everyone seemed enraptured by what was happening on the runway. Even some of the harshest critics that Jaehyun recognised sitting on the other side of the room were watching the models with undisguised awe.

 

“To close,” The host’s voice boomed across the room. “We’ll be revealing one of the signature pieces from Mr Jung’s upcoming collections. This outfit was one of the first one’s designed by Mr Jung and is considered the crowning jewel of the collection.”

 

Jaehyun’s breath was caught in his throat and he felt his brain fail him as he stared at the model who stepped on the on runway.

 

There was no other word he would have used to describe the man on stage except for _ethereal_. His eyes were piercing, sharp and demanded attention. His gaze was focused as he moved down the runway. He moved lithely, with a slim figure that Jaehyun could just make out from beneath the layers he was wearing. Combined with a head of bubble gum pink, the model breathed whimsicality with an underlying sense of edge into the entire outfit.

 

It was almost as if Jaehyun had designed the outfit solely _for_ him.

 

“Holy shit,” Jaehyun heard Sicheng say from next to him. “That’s Lee Taeyong!”

 

“Lee Taeyong?” Jaehyun repeated, never once taking his eyes of the stunning model. Taeyong had already reached the end of the runway and had paused his walk to pose for a bit before turning around and walking back. _It’s like everything I’ve ever designed was meant for him and him alone,_ Jaehyun thought to himself.

 

“He’s been the talk of the town ever since his Instagram photos went viral two years ago. His latest shoot with _Harper’s Bazaar_ was phenomenal. I didn’t even know he’d be walking any of the Fashion Week shows, let alone yours. How did the hell did Yeri even manage to snap him up?” Sicheng said breathlessly, also unable to take his eyes off the runway until the model disappeared from view.

 

“Remind me to buy her something real nice after all this is done,” Jaehyun replied, finally managing to pull himself out of his reverie. The host now began his final comments before introducing Yeri to come out on stage. Jaehyun grinned as Yeri made eye contact with him.

 

“I’d like to thank everyone involved in this show, without all of you none of this would have been possible. I would also like to thank one very special person who managed to attend today. He’s a very dear friend and has one of the most brilliant minds I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with,” Yeri said with a wide smile. “Ladies and gentlemen, the man behind all the stunning outfits presented today: Jung Jaehyun!”

 

The spotlight glared down at Jaehyun, blinding him for a moment before he managed to give a tentative smile. The audience applauded loudly and Jaehyun could hear Sicheng trying not to laugh as he gave Yeri a thumbs up.

 

Jaehyun elbowed him in the side as he kept smiling and bowed a little in his seat.

 

“I’m never gonna let you and Yeri meet ever again.”

  
  


 

* * *

 

  
  


Jaehyun could feel people staring as he weaved in and out of the crowd, eyes searching for Sicheng or Yeri.

 

Or a certain pink-haired model.

 

The glass, triangle skylight domed ceiling above him framed the sky beautifully as Paris’ skyline hovered just above the horizon. The rooftop bar was easily one of the most stunning ones that Jaehyun had ever been to but he couldn’t bring himself to appreciate the architecture and design. He was on a mission tonight and he’d be damned if he didn’t get it done.

 

Taeyong, it appeared, had been whisked away by his manager to do some interviews by the time Jaehyun and Sicheng arrived backstage. Yeri, however, let it slip that Taeyong would most likely be attending the after party later that evening. “I had a feeling he’d catch your eye,” Yeri had said slyly.

 

“Every single person in the room was watching him just now,” Jaehyun deadpanned in response.

 

“That’s not what I meant.”

 

After walking around for what felt like ages, he finally spotted Sicheng chatting with an unfamiliar man on one side of bar. The man was slightly taller, wearing a black silk patterned shirt and darker pants to match. The smile he was giving Sicheng was warm, a big smile that lit his whole face up. A pair of glasses framed his eyes yet Jaehyun had a feeling those were more for aesthetic rather than practicality. After noticing the way Sicheng allowed the stranger to order him a drink with a soft smile, Jaehyun decided against interrupting the duo. He made a mental note to confront Sicheng later.

 

Jaehyun bumped into a couple more people as he circled the room, a few high-profile models whose names Jaehyun couldn’t quite remember as well as fellow designers eager to congratulate him and offering to do collaborations in the future. He greeted each person with a well practiced smile and the false hopes of meeting again in the future.

 

Deciding he had had enough of the crowd, he forlornly made his way to the outdoor area to get some fresh air. Jaehyun hadn’t even caught the tiniest _glimpse_ of the model and resigned himself to face the possibility that Taeyong hadn’t ended up coming to the party at all.

 

As he reached for the handle of the door leading outside the dome, he found himself accidentally grasping the hand of someone also reaching for the handle at the same time. “Oh,” An unfamiliar voice said. The hand in Jaehyun’s own retracted quickly and Jaehyun followed the movement with his eyes and came face to face with the one person he’d been wanting to see most.

 

Taeyong looked slightly bashful as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. He was dressed in black from head to toe, making his pink hair stand out even more. The small smile he gave Jaehyun softened his face, and Jaehyun felt his brain fizzle out for a split second before he composed himself once more.

 

Grasping the handle and opening the door, he gave Taeyong a genuine smile and motioned for him to pass through first. “After you,” He said charmingly. Taeyong looked slightly taken aback but smiled a little wider and walked forward with Jaehyun following behind.

 

The sun had completely set now and the view was dazzling with stars littered across the night sky. It was quieter out here, the music from inside the dome was muffled by the glass and Jaehyun felt himself relaxing a little as he admired the city lights.

 

“Sorry,” Taeyong’s voice said hesitantly and Jaehyun looked over to see Taeyong had approached him. “You’re Jung Jaehyun, right?”

 

Jaehyun nodded and extended a hand out for Taeyong to shake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Taeyong right?”

 

“Yes,” Taeyong replied, shaking Jaehyun’s hand. “It was such an honour to be able to walk for your show this afternoon.”

 

“I feel like I should be thanking you,” Jaehyun remarked.

 

“Why do you say that?” Taeyong asked, tilting his head a little in confusion. Jaehyun looked away, suddenly feeling a little hesitant to say anything more.

 

Clearing his throat, he fixed his eyes on Paris’ skyline as he responded, “You brought one of my favourite creations to life. I don’t think any other model would have looked as breathtaking as you did wearing it.”

 

Jaehyun could feel his heart fluttering nervously as he waited for the model to say something.

 

“That really means a lot to me, to hear you say that,” Taeyong said softly. Jaehyun looked back at the model once more. Taeyong was looking at him with admiration as he continued. “I’ve been a fan of your work for a while now and I honestly didn’t think I’d even get to see you here at all. I heard you’d been going through some things, I hope you figure it all out soon. Or at least have someone to talk to about it all.” He said sincerely.

 

A lump settled in Jaehyun’s throat as he stared at Taeyong. There was nothing but genuine concern and care in the other man’s eyes and Jaehyun felt almost unworthy of having Taeyong’s attention like this.

 

“I- Thank you,” Jaehyun said sincerely. Taeyong’s gaze was soft as he smiled at him. The pink-haired model changed the subject, as if sensing that Jaehyun wanted to talk about something else. Something mindless to distract him from thinking about whatever it was that had been pressing on him relentlessly.

 

They stayed that way for the rest of the night, leaning against the balcony rail as they talked about nothing and everything. Illuminated by the night lights, Jaehyun thought that Taeyong looked even more beautiful and he thanked his lucky stars that he was able to have this moment. The only thing that brought an end to their evening was the appearance of Taeyong’s manager who apologetically excused Taeyong saying he needed to head back since Taeyong apparently had an early start the next day.

 

Jaehyun gave Taeyong his business card but scribbled on his personal number on the back of it. “I’d love to see you again, maybe we could continue this conversation sometime?” He had asked hopefully.

 

“I’d definitely like that.”

  
  


 

* * *

 

 

 

“Yuta, I swear I’m going to throw out all the One Piece volumes you’ve dumped in my apartment if you don’t stop following Jaehyun and I around,” Taeyong hissed menacingly into his phone. Jaehyun watched with amusement as the model argued with the mysterious Yuta.

 

The two of them were back in Seoul, walking around Apgujeong together while Jaehyun took Taeyong to some of his favourite haunts. It was a much needed break for Taeyong who had been bouncing between interviews, shoots and fittings ever since Paris and for Jaehyun who was also involved in numerous press conferences following the success of his show and preceding the upcoming launch of his new collection. The two had kept in contact after Paris and texted constantly and meeting up whenever their schedules granted them some down time.

 

On top of being ridiculously beautiful, Taeyong was kind, understanding, patient, and always reminded Jaehyun to take care of himself when the other’s schedules got too hectic or when Jaehyun began thinking too much. He’d order food to be sent to Jaehyun’s place when he knew that Jaehyun was too busy to feed himself. Jaehyun would send Sicheng sneak peeks of designs that had begun flowing out of Jaehyun ever since he returned from Paris.

 

It was as if Taeyong had flipped a switch in him, giving him his second wind. He found himself practically leaping whenever a text from Taeyong arrived and Sicheng once commented that it looked extremely ill-fitting for Jaehyun to be behaving like a lovesick teenager.

 

“Trust me, I’ll be fine. Go bother Doyoung or something,” Taeyong said with a roll of his eyes before hanging up.

 

It was ridiculously cute.

 

“So, is Yuta worried you’ll get attacked or something while you’re with me? You can let him know I have a black belt in Taekwondo. I’m no martial arts genius like he is but I think I can hold out my own in a fight,” Jaehyun said jokingly. Taeyong tucked his phone away into his pocket.

 

“He’s just being extremely antsy about everything because Sicheng asked to see him when he gets here next week,” Taeyong replied, shrugging.

 

“Ah, right. I forgot he was coming to visit,” Jaehyun said with a laugh. Sicheng and Yuta had apparently hit it off at the after party the same night Jaehyun and Taeyong met. The Japanese man had been extremely taken with Sicheng after spotting the Chinese designer discreetly incapacitating some creep who had tried getting a little too handsy with Sicheng before Jaehyun had arrived. Yuta had introduced himself and Sicheng apparently couldn’t say no to the angelic smile sent his way.

 

“Yuta’s gonna end up ditching me to work as Sicheng’s bodyguard instead at this rate,” Taeyong sighed, fake pouting.

 

“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Jaehyun said reassuringly. Yuta had taken Jaehyun by surprise when they properly met. Yuta didn’t look anything like the beefy looking bodyguards Jaehyun was used to seeing. He dressed down way too much, often sporting tank tops and sweatpants whenever Jaehyun saw him. But after seeing the Japanese man effortlessly take down a particularly delusional stalker of Taeyong’s who had hysterically accosted them when they were out one evening without an ounce of remorse or hesitation, Jaehyun had a feeling nothing in the world would pull Yuta away from Taeyong’s side. “Besides, Sicheng has a ‘no sleeping with people who works with him or for him’ rule. I think that's enough to stop Yuta from jumping ship.”

 

The laugh that Taeyong let out filled Jaehyun with warmth and he couldn’t stop himself from linking his fingers with Taeyong’s. The look that Taeyong gave him was one of surprise but it quickly melted into a beautiful smile as he squeezed Jaehyun’s hand gently before Jaehyun pulled him closer to his side.

 

“Is this okay?” Jaehyun murmured quietly. They had never really talked about what they were becoming when they began seeing each other more often. Jaehyun had hoped that Taeyong would see him the same way he saw him. He couldn’t stand the idea of not having Taeyong in his life.

 

Taeyong was like the sun, warm and bright and breathing life into Jaehyun’s world. There was something about him that pulled Jaehyun towards him, something that made Jaehyun never want to leave his side. He pulled Jaehyun out from the dark, from the slump that had nearly made Jaehyun walk away from it all.

 

And with the way that Taeyong leaned up to kiss his cheek swiftly in a silent response, Jaehyun had a feeling he’d never have to face his demons alone again.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you guys liked this! hmu on [twitter](https://twitter.com/taemintys) or leave me some prompts in my [cc](https://curiouscat.me/kwonjis) if you’d like!


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